Gujarat University to start India's first dual degree system

The Gujarat University has given a proposal to the University Grants Commission (UGC) that it should be allowed to give two degrees simultaneously to its students.
All this has come up after getting inspiration by the tenth plan of UGC, which wants to have parallel education system. The tenth plan of the UGC clearly states the parallel education concept should be given encouragement. Students should be able to obtain a degree and diploma or a dual degree. Colleges and university should be encouraged to do so.

There is no university in India at present, as per the UGC norms, which allows a student to study for two degrees simultaneously. But the existing rules allow students to take up a degree course and a diploma course together.

The Vice Chancellor of the varsity, V-C Parimal Trivedi has written to the UGC, said that they want to follow the footsteps of foreign universities and has asked for the permission to confer dual degrees. 

After getting permission from UGC, a student who is pursuing post graduation in arts, commerce or science would also be able to study for the bachelor of law (LLB) degree simultaneously. 

The V-C says, “If a student has the capacity and eligibility, he or she can study for one course in the morning, while attending classes for the other one in the evening or afternoon”.

After the approval of the proposal, the Gujarat University will be the first university in the country to offer dual degrees. The students would be given admission in two different courses on the basis of the subjects studied in previous classes.

Source: Times of India

Bosch to spend Euro 50 mn for higher education

Germany-headquartered Bosch Group is planning to expand its funding of higher education and wants to launch a global initiative. The company has decided to invest a total of euro 50 million, in order to support universities and research projects in Germany, China, India and the US in the coming 10 years. Around euro 22.8 million is expected to be provided to India.

The “Bosch InterCampus Programme” stresses on achieving improvements in research conditions for the undergraduate students and scientists in the university sphere.

In 2010 the Bosch Group spent euro 3.8 billion for research and development. It is a global supplier of technology and services. It has taken the social responsibility. All this offers young graduates excellent prospects for the future. It is expected that in 2011 Bosch will take in 9,000 university graduates worldwide.

It has a 10-year development project which aims to set up the “Robert Bosch Centre for Research in Cyber Physical Systems” at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. This will help to save energy in buildings, for instance. The house of the future would be able to know current energy prices and even the local weather. They would be able to optimise their energy consumption according to the needs.

Bosch is setting up a campus for IT design, cyber-physical systems, mobility solutions and renewable energy in collaboration with IISc. There would be a perfect research and working environment for the IT specialists.

The chairman of the Bosch board of management said, “By funding science and research, we are investing not only in the future viability of our company but also in the future of a global society,”

In the InterCampus programme, undergraduates and scientists would be able to do research on electromobility, energy generation, energy efficiency, and reducing emissions.

Source: Business Standard

Manav Rachna University is the first Int’l Centre for Outsourcing Studies

MRIU has become India’s first University which would now host & establish the International Centre for Outsourcing Studies (ICOS®). It has got under license from the global BPO standards leader, BPO certification Institute, Inc.(BCI) United States. BCI is present in more than 40 countries across the globe. It has more than 00 Certification Training Centres. Certifications of BCI include 23 professional certifications for BPO professionals which cover 6 operative levels - Entry, Specialist, Team leader, Manager, Functional Leader and business Leader.

MRIU would be launching many International certification and degree programs in BPO & Outsourcing. It even includes the internationally benchmarked Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in different areas of outsourcing. This programme gives complete employment assurance for students who achieve a BCI credential. MRIU has also become the first university in India that will offer PhD programs in outsourcing and research and consulting to the BPO Industry.

It is expected that MRIU would be instrumental in nurturing BPO talents that would be globally competitive.

BPO industry offers many career opportunities for young graduates. An average graduate, in India can earn 1.5 lakh-2.5 lakh with some training and certifications. MRIU also wants to install a process to commence talent-creation for KPO industry from the next academic year starting in July 2011.

Fee structure of the course will be announced shortly. Normally BCI entry level certification programme cost somewhere $100 and the higher level cost around $150-$500. Seven other international universities have also joined BCI. 

Source: Business Standard

Corporates given a nod to start medical colleges


Addressing the 13^th edition of national seminar on hospital, healthcare management and medico-legal systems at Symbiosis Internal University, Lavale, the Union health minister, Gulam Nabi Azad said the government is willing to promote public private partnership (PPP) in areas where an urgent need is felt and at present such need a being felt in for more medical institutions. Skilled manpower in the health sector is required and to bridge the supply gap a green signal is given to corporates for setting up medical colleges across the country.


The move is being regarded as an impressive stride in building infrastructure. Till now the government has not allowed the corporates to start medical colleges in India. More medical colleges mean more seats which will produce more medical professionals. All this can fill the demand and supply gap in the health sector. It is estimated that there are around 730,000 doctors and 930,000 nursing personnel,  but a large number of healthcare professionals are concentrated in urban and semi urban areas. So there is great shortage of health manpower at the grassroots level. 


Source: The Times of India

1 million jobs in water sector

It is expected that around one million job opportunities would be created in water sector in the coming three years in India. The reason behind this is attributed to the rise in demand for wastewater treatment plants and desalination plants. Even there is greater demand of engineering and design for water applications.

It is estimated that the water industry is growing at a rate of 18 per cent per annum. The total sector is pegged at Rs 60,000 crore which is in no way a small amount. 

Since the reliability of the Indian professionals is increasing all over the world, the manpower demand is too growing more than proportionately. There is quite high demand in Gulf countries. Moreover the market in India too has grown in considerable terms in last few years. Two-thirds of the manpower requirement comes from the companies within India, as many MNCs have been set up here.

People are getting more and more aware regarding pollution control measures and conservation of environment. The norms laid by the government have also resulted in growth of demand for such plants and equipments. Due to large size of the market, Dr K. Chandrasekhar, India representative of US-based water quality association, believes that there would be nearly 50 per cent rise in recruitment in the next three to five years.
The whole industry is likely to become consumer centric and people from all categories including plumber and fitter to scientists would be required in great numbers.

Source: Deccan Chronical

HUL, Bharti Airtel, NTPCand Cognizant, some of top most employers in India

In a survey by a leading global human resources management company Aon Hewitt, it was found that FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, telecom player Bharti Airtel and state-owned NTPC are among the best employers in India. This study is the seventh of its kind performed by Aon Hewitt in partnership woth Outlook Business magazine. 25 companies have been found with best working environment in India. 

Hindustan Unilever, Aditya Birla Group, LG Electronics India, Godrej Consumer Products, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Becton Dickinson India, Aircel, Wipro and Marriott Hotels India are some of the top most employers. 

The characteristics which make them toppers are alignment of people practices to the overall business strategy of the firm and an environment. All this help in creating a positive experience for the employees.
 
These companies are believed to have articulated business strategies. They provide best career proposals. The work environment ensures high performance. 

These companies are able to achieve superior business results. They succeed in better execution of people programs. They believe in investment in high quality staff by them higher average salary and helping them in their rounded skills development.

These companies belong to various sectors such as banking, manufacturing, IT & ITes, telecom, hospitality, FMCG and consumer durable. Their staff ranges from less than 1,000 to over 7,0000 employees.

Some other companies that are included in this list are Kotak Mahindra Bank, Scope International, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Whirlpool of India, Maruti Suzuki India, Canon India, Ford Group, Tata Teleservices, Mindtree, NIIT, Tata Steel, Jubiliant Foodworks, Cognizant Technology Solutions, FirstSource Solutions and Aegis.

Social media act as a potent tool for both employers and employees

Facebook and LinkedIn are becoming hunting grounds for employees seeking new jobs as more and more people are using these sites globally. 

Social media help people to find new jobs in fast and efficient ways according to an HR services firm Ma Foi Randstad.

The survey by the firm says that 82 per cent of Indian employees feel confident when they use the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, that these sites would help them to find new jobs. The main focus of the survey was on ‘mental mobility’ of the employees which reflected their eagerness to change jobs.

It is estimated that 87 per cent of Indian employees make use of social media to get information about the work culture of an organisation. Track of the most preferred companies is kept by 75% of the people. They do all this in order to prepare themselves for the interviews. 90% employees have their profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin which are used for professional purposes.

Moreover, the survey found that 90 per cent of Indian employees have an individual accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and out of them, 81 per cent use it for professional purposes. Those who are most confident in finding jobs for themselves through social media are mostly from Mumbai (85%) and Delhi (83%).

It can be seen that Indian workforce is the "most mobile in the world", with an index score of 145. China and Mexico come next in this category. Survey of over 60,000 employees in 26 countries was conducted regarding this.

Social media act as a potent tool for both employers and employees. It is a least cost and high return combination.

Infy to hire more in US, China  

Infosys Technologies, which is India's second-largest software exporter, is now planning to step up hiring in the US, China and other overseas markets. The aim behind this is to check increasing employee turnover and encourage profit. They now want to create global footprint.  

A chief executive of the company said that they needed to get talent in the countries like Philippines, in China, in the Czech Republic and Brazil.
 
Infosys is likely to hire around 1,500 workers in America which is its biggest market at present. It wants more than double the workforce in China in 18 months. For this it will add a new campus in Shanghai. Thus Infy is expanding overseas. Its earnings have missed estimates for a third time in four quarters and employee attrition has worsened.
Infy wants to deliver the work from close to the client s premises irrespective of high costs. It is of the opinion that a local resource is likely to be more valuable than somebody sent from India.
 
The Shanghai campus would cost around $130 million There it would hire as many as 4,000 employees in 18 months. There are 3,000 workers in China at present. The company also plans to add people also in Mexico as it is a near shore centre for US.
In the past 10 years the workforce of the company has increased to 13-fold and the revenues have increased 14-fold.

Source: The Economic Times

Symbiosis International University to bring out liberal U-G course from June

A new course is going to be launched by the Symbiosis International University (SIU) in June this year. It is an under graduate programme in liberal education. It is expected to bring more flexibility in the teaching and learning process. The duration of the course would of four years.

The vice-chancellor of SIU said that the liberal education course would permit students to have a combination of unrelated subjects from science and arts streams while doing graduation.

A student could major in mathematics along with studying languages or theatre, or even music by choosing them as elective subjects. 60 are to be admitted in the first batch after a personal interview and group discussion by Symbiosis.

Symbiosis is known for collaborating with Indian institutes and foreign universities in the interest of students. Now the course is structured in such a way that there will be collaboration between intra- and inter-disciplinary departments.

Commenting on research activities, the Vice Chancellor said, “Research should start from under-graduate level itself and should not be restricted to just an activity, but should be spread as a culture.”

Source: DNA India

IT & ITES sector to bring 183,000 jobs

With the emergence of markets like India and China, global corporate companies are laying more stress on the strategies of growth and workforce.

The Ma Foi Randstad Employment Survey (METS) had predicted in 2010 that there would be creation of around 1 million jobs in the organized sector of the economy. At the end of the year it was found that 1.13 million jobs were created across 13 industries like Healthcare, Hospitality, Real Estate, Construction, IT and ITES etc.

Now for the current year i.e. for 2011, it is expected that the trend would continue and it is estimated that there would be a creation of 1.6 million jobs across various sectors. Industries like healthcare, non-machinery manufacturing, hospitality, IT & ITES and real estate & construction sectors would witness sharp rise in number of jobs.

According to the METS first edition of 2011, one see that there is continuation of momentum growth in the service sector. A positive trend is also seen in transportation and financial sectors according to the indicators. Employment generation has remained stable in most of the sectors.

It is likely that the IT & ITES sector would add 183,000 jobs in 2011. These sectors have remained been the major job providers during the fourth Quarter of 2010. It is predicted that the sector will keep growing in 2011 also.
IT-ITES industry is India's is regarded as one of the largest employment generators in the organized sector which creates jobs for over 10 million people both directly and indirectly according to NASSCOM. Since the rural BPOs have increased, so IT-ITES sectors are contributing more in the employment generation.

These companies are becoming more competitive and entering the area of outsourcing as well. This has brought about greater positive effect in the employment trends in this sector. Salary levels too have increases in this sector.

Total jobs in the sector:
Estimated December 2010:1,918,865
Expected June 2011: 2,019,665
Expected December 2011: 2,101,865

Source: DNA India

Symbiosis International University to bring out liberal U-G course from June

A new course is going to be launched by the Symbiosis International University (SIU) in June this year. It is an under graduate programme in liberal education. It is expected to bring more flexibility in the teaching and learning process. The duration of the course would of four years.

The vice-chancellor of SIU said that the liberal education course would permit students to have a combination of unrelated subjects from science and arts streams while doing graduation.

A student could major in mathematics along with studying languages or theatre, or even music by choosing them as elective subjects. 60 are to be admitted in the first batch after a personal interview and group discussion by Symbiosis.

Symbiosis is known for collaborating with Indian institutes and foreign universities in the interest of students. Now the course is structured in such a way that there will be collaboration between intra- and inter-disciplinary departments.

Commenting on research activities, the Vice Chancellor said, “Research should start from under-graduate level itself and should not be restricted to just an activity, but should be spread as a culture.”

Source: DNA

Beware of fake job offers from Nigeria

A warning has been issued by the Indian high commission in Nigeria regarding the increasing number of cases of Indians being duped by Nigerians.  Many false promises like job offers are given to the Indians. The Indian high commission has cautioned its citizens to ignore such proposals. All this has been published in a notice published on the website of Indian high commission.

The notice further says, "Now few jobs are available in schools, universities, hotels, banks, hospitals for doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians and in the oil industry. Unfortunately, many scam job offers are floating around purportedly for Nigeria or other nearby countries to extract money in the name of visa fees, permit and even deposit or charges for opening a salary account.”

If there are genuine jobs then the selections are made only after a personal interview in India which is taken either by the employer or through reputed consultants/recruiting agents. In such cases, authorization is sent by the employers only.
Visa fees and air ticket is paid by the employer. The high commission again warned prospective applicants not to pay visa fees or tickets even if they are promised refund.  The notice has also warned, "Also visa or residence permit cannot be prepared in Nigeria and sent to you.”

Online job offer received based on data registered with job sites should also not be taken as valid until a proper enquiry is conducted and without routine interviews. 

One should also not give information regarding bank accounts and personal details. No payment should be made for services relating to job offers and visas.
A warning about scams has also been issued which happen in the name of tender, order and enquiry for supply of various goods and services floating around, often for huge quantities and value to lure the inexperienced exporters.

Plenty of career opportunities in LPO firms 

Valuenotes reports that the Indian LPO market will be growing to more than $1bn by 2014. The industry is getting stronger. It is estimated LPO revenues (from India alone) were $370 million for 2009.

There is an increasing pressure on businesses to boost capacity, lower costs and finding of efficient ways to deliver services. All this has lead to its growth.

India is fast developing into a preferred investment destination. So there are great opportunities for young lawyers in India to get work experience in their domain as well as to take up a business manager’s role while moving up the corporate ladder.

LPO companies provide a platform along with giving global exposure and knowledge of multiple jurisdictions to the lawyers. They get the experience to build and manage teams in a short period of time. The development of employee development in LPOs is linked with the growth of the corporation. International business environment is provided to the lawyers, which gives them in-depth knowledge of law and business dynamics. 

Many young and experienced lawyers are joining LPOs. Lawyers with LLM from international universities and in private practice are choosing to work for leading LPOs.

One of them said and I quote - Although legal profession offers a plethora of opportunities, the LPO industry offers a completely new avenue wherein a legal professional not only develops as a lawyer but also is presented with an administrative role.  


LPOs have multi tasks to perform. Being and outsourcing industry, there is greater flexibility as regards the schedules of working. With mergers and acquisitions LPOs are growing in the direction of consolidation and it is likely to reach $1bn by 2014 which is less than one percent of global law industry.  

Source: Deccan Herald

Retentions bonuses to check attrition 

Retention bonuses are being brought to retain talent and number of employees in corporates. These bonuses have shot up the perks almost three times. According to the director of GlobalHunt the employees were given 5% bonus last year which has been increased up to 15% currently.

Employees get retention bonuses for their contributions to generation of revenue and management abilities. The amount to them is according to their job profiles. Bonuses can be given either in lumpsum or in instalments.

The companies are finding new ways to retain talent with them. Neville Lobo, vice-president, corporate HR and personnel, Larsen & Toubro, says, "With foreign companies setting up operations in India, we are slowing beginning to realise that the demand for talented people is fast outstripping supply. So, in days to come, management of human capital will become the key differentiator that will set one organisation apart from the other," He was speaking in a convention on human resource organised by CII.

It is believed that working Indians are always ready to move from one place to another and take new jobs. Retention in such cases pose challenges for the companies. 

The state of mind of the employees was studied in a survey called the 'Work Monitor' survey. It took place in 25 countries of Europe, Asia Pacific and the American continent. 89% of the Indians were open for relocation and change their jobs in short run and thus India topped the list. China and Mexico followed India. The world average came to be 60%. 

Source: Economic Times

Bangalore becoming a job hub for engineering graduates 

Around 72 per cent of engineering graduates, from all over the country, are drawn towards Bangalore for their first job.

A survey that was conducted by Aspiring Minds Research Cell, said that the city even is ahead of the New Delhi which is second most preferred destination in this respect. Aspiring Minds Research Cell is an employability measurement and recruitment firm. Hyderabad and Chennai get third and fifth spots respectively.

A sample of 19,000 engineering students from all over the country was taken for the survey.

Bangalore is regarded as the “Mecca” of engineers. The city offers many opportunities for growth in all respects. IT companies have their largest base here.

Another sector which attracts large number of employees from all over India is Biotechnology. Largest number of job opportunities in this sector exists in Bangalore. Biotechnology firms are increasing there and the city has a good ecosystem. Young and qualified personnel in this field are quite innovative and enterprising. Many organizations have been set up which are attracting the freshers.   

Mohandas Pai, Director, HR, Infosys Technologies said, “Bangalore has a range of jobs and there is a demand for good people”. 

Source: Expressbuzz

Indian students prefer New Zealand for higher studies 

According to official figures, India is, at present, the second largest source of foreign students in New Zealand. The first is China for providing international students to New Zealand.

Students from India prefer New Zealand for higher studies whereas the numbers of students going to China, South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan and Britain have declined in the past few years.

The statistics released by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) shows that number of Indian students who have been approved to study has risen continuously over the last five years i.e. from around 3,700 fee-paying students in 2005-06 to over 12,000 in 2010-11.

In 2007-08, India was the third largest source of students to New Zealand's. South Korea stood at the second place after China, reported INZ statistics.

The foremost reason given by the students for this preference of New Zealand over the other countries is that it is peaceful nation with safe society and beautiful natural environment. Moreover the teaching system encourages the students to work in groups and apply the theories to the real life situations.

Source: Deccan Herald

Laureate Hospitality Education targets over 350 Indian students annually in coming five year 
 

Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE) expects to receive 350 students every year from India in the coming 5 years. LHE has hospitality schools in Switzerland, Spain, China, Australia and the US. 

There are many course offered by the LHE schools. These are undergraduate, postgraduate and master programmes in all sectors of the hospitality industry. Due stress is laid both on learning, theory as well as professional internships throughout the world.

Students are given option for international transfer possibility for example if a student starts his education in Switzerland he can then move to Australia or the US for one or two semesters. Students can be in contact with over 15,000 hiring managers in more than 75 countries during their internship. On an average, each student receives three job offers after completing graduation.  

Since the hospitality industry in India is growing leaps and bounds, the student would be getting wide range of job opportunities hotels, restaurants, transportation, entertainment, spas, corporate offices, hospitals, sports, conferences etc in coming years.
LHE is a global group of institutions is already providing management education in more than 100 countries. The LHE schools are:

• Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Spain
• Les Roches Gruyère University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland
• Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel Management College, Shanghai in China
• Kendall College, Chicago in the US
• Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in Australia
• Australian International Hotel School in Australia. 

Source: hospitalitybizindia.com

Volkswagen plans to train students

A training programme has been introduced by Volkswagen India has introduced for the students of polytechnic in Pune. It is known as Volkswagen Group Technical Education Program (VG-TAP). It is being done in association with city based Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s Polytechnic College.

Volkswagen Group India will be giving training along with technical support to educational institutes. The aim is to create employment for youth in the automobile sector. Pune-based Polytechnic is the first institute in India that Volkswagen Group India has associated in order to implement the VG-TAP program.

Because of this, the students would get a work experience on latest technology in automobile industry after working on a Volkswagen Jetta and a Volkswagen Polo given to the Institute by Volkswagen Group. The teachers would also be provided by the Volkswagen Training Academy. 

It is seen that the automobile industry in India is growing leaps and bounds. Thus the demand for young and talented people in the automobile sector is also growing at a faster pace. This programme is expected to create talent for the industry by training them in all aspects of automotive technology and customer service.
The students would get knowledge of modern automobile technologies through a certificate course.

The gap between the course curriculum offered by the institutes and the requirement of the industry would be filled by this course. Under this VG-TAP program, ITI (mechanic motor vehicle and diesel engine mechanic) and diploma (mechanical and automobile) engineering students will also be given training.

Source: Business Standard

Aptech and Microsoft enter into an alliance 

Aptech Limited and Microsoft Corporation Pvt Ltd have entered into an alliance. Aptech is a known name in a IT education globally.

It is expected that in this partnership, Aptech would be integrating licensed Microsoft educational content into its IT related career and short-term courses. The partnership would train and certify around 1,50,000 students by 2015. The training would be given in Microsoft technologies like Windows Server 2008, Vista, Microsoft Exchange Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Virtualization and Microsoft Certifications.

There is great chasm in terms of vocational skills and qualifications even in the presence of large number of engineering colleges and institutes in our country. It is estimated that only 5% of students in India have vocational expertise as compared to US, which has 60% of vocationally qualified students, Aptech expects that this kind of strategic alliance would provide better employment opportunities for Indian students. This is a kind of collaborative growth model. 

Aptech operates in 35 emerging countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Africa. It earns one third of its revenues from outside India. With Microsoft becoming part of the curriculum, would prove quite beneficial for the students as far as more job opportunities and skills are concerned.

Alison Cunard, Microsoft Learning’s general manager said, “Skill development is a key focus for us at Microsoft and we are pleased to collaborate with Aptech to deliver very tangible results,” Aptech’s educational courses would embed Microsoft course in itself. It woud be offered across 360 cities in India. The students would also be getting an added advantage of obtaining Microsoft certifications and training facilities so that they may be able to enhance their skills and employment opportunities.

Microsoft wants to explore more of such opportunities and also wants to tie up with government, social and private educational organizations in future.

There are highest number of Microsoft certified professionals in India which are around 2,00,000 in number, who are certified annually. Microsoft has tie-up with NIIT also.  

Source: http://www.ciol.com/News/News/News-Reports/Aptech-Microsoft-to-train-150000-students/146794/0/

MNCs to hire more graduates at higher pay scales 

It is anticipated by the top business schools in India that 2011 will be the best year yet for campus placements.  Recruiters are in search of the cream of management graduates from these institutes. The prospective employers are likely to be more of MNCs, who would be hiring more students even by offering higher pay packages. All this indicates that the western economies are now improving.
 
The placement process has already started at IIM-Ahmedabad. The investment baks and consulting firms are offering higher pay scale which is up to a fifth higher than the previous year.
Placements at IIM-Bangalore will start from 5th March. IIM-Calcuttta and Lucknow will follow the process.
 
Campus recruitments at the IIMs and other top B-schools are very significant in the manner as they are indicators of corporate confidence.
 
The Boston Consulting Group has broken their last year’s record by employing eight candidates each. BCG who has hired 11 graduates from IIM-A, is the top recruiter, hiring 11 IIM-A graduates. McKinsey has made 10 offers. These include the pre-placement offers to students after a two-month internship.

T Muralidharan, an IIM-A alumnus and the chairman of TMT Group says, “Information technology companies, which are offering higher-value services to clients in the US and Europe, will play a crucial role in raising the average level of pay”.


Source: Economic Times